Warning to Showtime: Don’t you dare portray terrorists who are trying to destroy America in a sympathetic light.

That was the word from politicians and advocacy groups yesterday as they slammed the cable network for its new drama about the lives of an Islamic terror cell plotting murder and mayhem in the United States.

As The Post first reported, the creators of “The Cell” hope to present a more human portrait of the fanatical killers bent on destroying America, with scripts that go “beyond a black-and-white portrayal.”

But Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) insisted that any attempt to make viewers feel sorry for terrorists would be ill-advised.

“The words ‘terrorism’ and ‘sympathy’ do not intersect in any way,” Schumer told The Post. “I hope this show doesn’t imply they do.”

Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.) said he had no problem with a dramatic show about terrorists – as long as it reveals them as an “evil threat” and nothing else.

“To show these people in any type of positive light is insane . . . It would be dangerous and immoral,” King said.

“The Cell” will star Israeli actor Oded Fehr as the charismatic leader of the terror cell.

“It’s a very dark kind of series about a terrorist network cell that is here in Los Angeles,” Fehr told MTV News. “[It’s] very real, very scary.”